‘Yes, I did but to say it casually…it sounds like I was that desperate…’ Tan thought as he pursed his lips.

“I thought you liked Lady Rivera before.” He said, changing the subject.

“I thought she was a good candidate but her earlier comment made me think otherwise.”

Tan’s smile spread across his face upon hearing that.

“She said you left early, did you wait that long for me?” Tan suddenly remembered.

“I left home early so Javi must have missed me. It doesn’t matter, at least I got a good look at the books and found that there’s nothing worth bringing over to my sister.”

The two of them continued to walk hand in hand down the street, earning them envious looks from the people who recognized them.

They are the second power couple known in their kingdom after all.

The two then went into a jewelry store to shop for their wedding ring, debating over the design, metal and gems used since Tan’s work requires him not to wear something too intricate, like their engagement ring.

They could have asked jewelers to come to the palace but Mikael insisted on putting on a show that they’re very much in love publicly, to deter other forces who are still intent on separating them.

•×•×•

Babysitting the young prince fell upon Tan and his brigade sometime later as the Tower Master had to attend a conference in a neighboring kingdom and couldn’t bring the prince with her; the king was so swamped with work that he entrusted his son’s safety to his brother. A temporary wet nurse was also assigned to the young prince.

Normally, his brigade would be the ones going with the Queen but the King had assigned the Second brigade of the royal knights instead and thus, babysitting duty fell upon the second prince.

With the wedding preparation being handled by the Canaels, Tan has all the free time to spend with his one and only nephew.

They were lounging in the gardens of the Canael’s estate within the Capital, wanting to take that chance to relax as well while ‘helping’ out with whatever is needed for the wedding.

With the baby rocker’s canopy up and the enchanted toys lulling the young prince to sleep while holding onto the rabbit doll his uncle gave him, Tan had a good leisure tea time and finally relaxed his tense muscles.

With his knights spread out evenly across the area and the estate, along with four others from the Duke’s Household nearby, the security on the prince is the tightest it can be and no assassin would come for his dear nephew.

Tan looked over at his sleeping nephew, reaching out to touch the chubby cheek fondly. The lilac hair is now thicker on the young prince, and when the prince is awake, he clearly has his mother’s eyes. He has gotten a lot bigger recently, and gained a lot of weight.

The second prince couldn’t help but coo at his nephew, not realizing that Mikael was approaching them with an old lady with brown hair and brown eyes.

She has some fine lines on her face and wears the official Head Maid uniform of House Canaels.

“Tan.” Mikael called out, making Tan jump from his seat.

“Oh, hey. Is something amiss?” Tan asked, embarrassed to have been caught cooing at his nephew.

“No, nothing of the sort. I want to introduce you to our nanny, Edelmira Arellano, or Nanny Mira for short. She’s the one who raised me and Siane. She’ll be helping out on caring for little Izak.”

Tan stood up and made a polite bow to the nanny, who then got flustered for receiving a bow from a prince.

“Your Highness, there’s no need to do that.” Nanny Mira said in her soft, gentle voice. “I am merely a nanny who raised them…”

“You stood as a mother to them, that’s why I want to pay proper respect to you.” Tan said with a smile.

Mikael frowned at his direction but decided to hold his tongue.

In the end, they watched Nanny Mira change the young prince’s diaper when the time came and how to burp him after having his milk.

Mikael was a little awkward on holding the young prince, and Tan looked a professional on holding him, and the stark difference made the servants of the Duke’s household wonder for the future of their dukedom.

If the Omega’s motherly instinct isn’t kicking in for Mikael, it’ll be some time before they get their own heir to fawn over.

•×•×•

It was the dead of the night, with Mikael shifting in his sleep when he was woken by sensing something amiss in the baby crib next to his bed.

He quietly sat up, rubbing his eyes to check on his nephew.

It should be time to change his diapers.

When he parted the net curtains of the crib, he realized that his nephew wasn’t in it.

Jolted awake by this, he scrambled out of bed and was about to pull on the cord to call the knights by his bedside when Tan entered the room, holding the sleeping baby. He was humming a lullaby as he walked and Mikael only stared at him in disbelief.

“Tanashiri!” He hissed, careful not to wake the baby.

“Hm?” Tan hummed as he looked up. “Oh, you’re awake.”

“Why did you take Izak from his crib?”

“He was crying nonstop and I could hear it next door. I figured you were tired so I came here to change his diapers.”

Mikael flushed. “You should’ve woken me up.”

“If Izak’s cries can’t wake you, then there’s no chance of me waking you up normally.” Tan said as he carefully laid the baby back down into the crib and covered him with a thin blanket.

Mikael sighed as he sat back down on the bed. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

“Mm, you can say that. I’m plagued by prophetic nightmares about Izak’s death.” Tan replied casually as he sat down on the bed next to Mikael. “To be honest…at this point in life, it’s getting harder to differentiate prophetic dreams and normal ones…the signs are disappearing…”

Mikael placed a hand over Tan’s, squeezing it gently to comfort him.